Why Mercedes Is Axing The SLC

2017 has been a year of surprises to many auto users. In recent news, Mercedes will be axing SLC series from its range of convertible cars. This comes after it was recently rebranded from SLK to SLC series. The move of axing the series was revealed to the media and customers by the Mercedes-Benzes’ CEO, Dieter Zetsche in a recent held Geneva auto show.

Zetsche said the famous car manufacturer would be pruning back a number of specialty cars that it offers today. The affected car lines will be coupe and convertibles. He announced that Mercedes will continue to offer multiple specialty cars but not as they are available in today’s market. The carmaker is reported to have six convertibles with a body style that performs poorly.

Performance and Sales

Poor sales performance seems to be the reason for removing SLC from the market. According to a sales report, Mercedes was only selling an average of 300 SLC a month in the United States market. This is seen as the major reason why the automaker will be doing away with the attractive convertible car series.

This move comes at a time when BMW is bound to launch its long waited convertible BMW Z5. This means BMW will enjoy a good time in the market, as their closest rival will not be up to the competition. BMW might yield a lot from that window of opportunity. However, it is expected Mercedes will be relying on C-Class Cabrio to fill the gap left by SLC.

Besides axing the SLC-series, Mercedes is also reported to be on a move to drop the S-Class Coupe and settle on a more up scaled E-Class. In addition, the future of S-class cabriolet in the market seems to be uncertain.

Identical Platform

On the same note, the newer models of Mercedes SL and AMG GT will be sharing an identical platform. The platform is estimated to be priced at $50K.

The SL is reported to be upgraded into a larger 2+2 convertible. They will also see to it that their roof top will be replaced with a soft one made from fine fabric similar to that of AMG GT C. This move is suggested to help separate the next SL from AMG’s next GT, which sources say will maintain a similar formula to the current model.

It is however uncertain when the SLC will actually be dropped from the list and therefore discontinued from market sales. But as a pointer from auto observers, it can be sooner than expected. If the SLC series is, your favorite car model watch out it will be vanishing soon. Nevertheless, you can be sure to get more convertible cars from Mercedes Benz as an alternative.